Little old Fiat 500 is a fistful of fun

JAMESTOWN — Bruce Beard wrote out a check for his white 1972 Fiat 500L before it arrived.“I saw it coming up the road on a flatbed and went inside and wrote a check before it arrived,” he said, adding...

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By
Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted Oct. 20, 2013 @ 12:01 am

JAMESTOWN — Bruce Beard wrote out a check for his white 1972 Fiat 500L before it arrived.

“I saw it coming up the road on a flatbed and went inside and wrote a check before it arrived,” he said, adding that he knew what the seller wanted for it. “I loved it the moment I saw it.”

But not so fast.

“I drove it home that evening and [Dorsey] took one look at it and fell in love and took it from me,” he said referring to his wife. At the same time, he said there were compensations, noting they don’t argue about taking it out and it helps the marriage. “Whenever I screw up and Dorsey gets mad at me, she jumps in the car, [goes for a drive] and feels much better,” he said.

Fiat produced nearly four million Cinquecentos from 1957 to 1975 and they became an Italian icon akin to the French Citroen Deux Chevaux, the British Morris Minor and the German VW Beetle, offering cheap transportation to millions in the post-World War II years. “It’s that class of car like the 2CV and the Beetle, making transportation cheap,” Beard said.

He said he bought the car from an importer and they believe it came from Padua outside Venice in northeast Italy based on an insurance sticker on the windshield. That was 10 years ago, and while they said they have not driven it many miles — 7,000 kilometers, to be precise, to bring it to 84,000 kilometers or about 52,000 miles on the clock — they said every trip was an adventure.

Beard, who owns Beard Beard Automotive in Middletown, said he usually avoided old cars “like the plague.” “This one survived my apathy,” he said. “It’s an awful car in many ways, but it’s awful cute.”

“It’s very crude,” he noted, referring to the little — less than 10 feet long — car’s simple layout and amenities. “People forget how far cars have come.” The new Fiat 500 was introduced in 2007 on the 50th anniversary of the original. It echoes the shape of the original but is bigger and heavier, with the engine mounted in front.

Dorsey pointed out the starter lever between the seats and a heat control behind the seats. A short drive revealed a fairly noisy engine due to its proximity to the tiny cabin rather than its power — a two-cylinder, air-cooled 500 cc engine putting out 18 horsepower and getting 50 to 60 miles per gallon.

“My lawn tractor has a bigger engine, horsepower-wise,” said Beard. Dorsey said she had once had it up to about 60 miles per hour but it was scary in so small a car with 12 inch wheels.

Dorsey said driving over the Newport Bridge was always a challenge but, “with me and Bruce, it’s pretty slow up the bridge,” she said. She added it was fun to watch people see Beard at 6 foot 3 inches get out of the car. “You don’t want to be in it for a long time,” he said ruefully. Indeed, they said they had not taken it out of Rhode Island, using it for local fun trips for Sunday brunch or ice cream and always attracting a big crowd wherever they go.

Or they take it downtown Jamestown on Wednesday nights during the off season for Italian night at the Narragansett Café. “It’s a cheap date with a meal and a bottle of wine and a lot of fun,” said Beard.

He said the two-door, four seater was a 500L, which indicated Lusso, or Luxury. That included better upholstery, wiper fluid, and chrome over riders on the bumpers. He said they have not done much to the car in the 10 years they have owned it. He said they painted it and he took the engine out and rebuilt it and they added new tires.

“It’s not restored, it’s not immaculate,” he said. “We’ve taken good care of it.” He said they had thought of taking to a show and “getting out the lawn chairs, but had not done so yet.”

“It’s a ridiculously fun car,” he said, adding that someone once asked him whether he felt nervous about a big SUV running him over and the driver wondering whether he or she had run over a paper cup.

But he added that an Italian once accosted him for joking about the car. “What are you laughing at?” he said the Italian said. “Don’t laugh. I was conceived in one of these cars.”